A how-to on our Baby Back Rib Portions

Our Baby Back Rib Portions are one of our most popular items. However, we always get a lot of questions on what they are and how to cook them.

These portions are 1, 2 and 3 rib portions of baby back ribs. They are not in ‘rack form’ but they are extremely easy to cook and very forgiving on the grill/smoker/oven. They are baby backs, so they are extremely tender and have great flavor.

Best of all, they are very affordable. These ribs are about half the price of our normal baby back ribs (and much less than half the price of the other guys). They come in a 10lb case, so they are perfect for a bbq DDI or a lime in the backyard.

So, here is a little video on how Jason from Blooms cooks his Baby Back Rib Portions. Most of the ribs in this video were smoked and grilled, but it’s also extremely easy to cook in the over if you don’t have a grill or a smoker. Any questions on the recipe please don’t hesitate to shoot us an email: jason@bloomsimports.com

 

20% ‘solution’? What is ‘solution’? A few notes on selecting steaks.

I always like to take a look at grocery stores around Trinidad to see what they have to offer in terms of steaks. Most of the time the steaks you come across are frozen cut clod steaks, with the occasional portion controlled strip or tenderloin.

I was browsing a store in Diego Martin and came across a line of steaks that I had only seen once before. A while back we had actually researched the brand to see if it was something we wanted to carry.

For a minute, let’s forget the fact that these Ribeye steaks are selling for $100TT per pound. If you read the fine print, you’ll notice that these Ribeyes (and every other type of steak in this line) are ‘Enhanced with 20% of a FMI patented solution’. What exactly does that mean?

There are several different reasons that a consumer would want and a company would ‘marinate’ their steaks with a solution prior to end-use. Sometimes, this is done with a natural tenderizer that helps ensure the steak is cooked tender each and every time, even when cooked thoroughly.  A lot of restaurants will use these steaks because they are required to cook steaks to ‘well done’ for some customers. It allows them to provide the customer with a tender steak, no matter what the end temperature. Tenderized steaks are perfectly fine and are usually delicious. We carry a few tenderized brands for this reason, but we will have done quite a bit of research to make sure the line of tenderized steaks we offer are marinated correctly.

In the case of the steaks above, the ‘patented solution’ being used is a salt solution with a few additional ingredients (water, ammonium hydroxide, etc). This is done to allow them to take a cheaper cut of meat and make it cook/act like a more expensive cut of meat. Remember, steaks like Ribeye are tender because of the marbling of fat throughout the meat. When that fat heats up, it melts into the surrounding muscle/meat and makes it tender. With lower-end/cheaper cuts of beef, you lack the marbling throughout the steak. Therefore, when the steak is cooked you do not get the ‘tender’ effect.

So, are tenderized steaks fine to eat? Sure. A lot of people prefer them because they help achieve a very tender steak even if you aren’t a ‘Pro Griller’.

Should they be $100 a pound? Absolutely not. The steaks pictured above are not Choice or even Select grade Ribeyes. They are what the beef industry calls Utility. These primal cuts are much much cheaper than purchasing a Prime, Choice or Select version of the meat. The usual reason is the marbling and/or the size of the primal cut. So the steak above was probably very cheap to begin with, it was cut into 16oz portions and then soaked in a solution to make it act like a expensive steak. Remember, when you are buying something that is claiming 20% solution added, you are paying a ‘Ribeye Price’ for salt water. A steak such as this should actually be much cheaper than it’s USDA Choice counterpart. It’s a lower grade steak and 1/5th of the weight is actually salt water. (our Choice Ribeye steaks usually sell for $70tt a pound).

Again, tenderized steaks are perfectly fine and just a matter of personal preference. However, it should not be treated as something that should command a higher price. The packaging may look nicer, but it doesn’t mean you are getting a nicer steak.

Happy Grilling!

How we deliver?

As many of you know, we offer free delivery of items within Port of Spain. All we ask is that the order amount be over $200TT. For those of you living outside of POS, we now do pick-ups at our Cocorite location Monday Thru Friday from around 11 am until 5pm. And also now on Saturday from 9:30am until 12:30pm.

To ensure your meats are delivered perfectly frozen, we now employ the use of our Keep It Cool freezer bags. These bags work better than ice chests and guarantee your meats reach your door step as cold as they were in our freezer.

Attention Crab Back Makers!

After a long search, we have finally found a consistent supply of high quality Crab Meat. This crab meat is in 5lb packs and is a product of the USA. So no more picking shells out of your meat before you mix it up. This is also ‘net weight’ which means you aren’t paying for water, you are paying for crab.

If you are a crab back producer OR know of someone who is, please have them contact Jason to discuss pricing and quantities they would like. We have done quite a bit of research and are confident we can provide customers with the best pricing on a higher quality product.

 

 

What is Kobe beef?

Kobe beef refers to cuts of beef from a specific breed of cattle, Wagyu. Much like Black Angus, Hereford, and Charolais are specific breeds of beef cattle. Because of it’s texture and marbling, it is said to be one of the finest breeds of cattle available. It’s considered a delicacy in Japan, which eats quite a bit of beef per capita. It’s said to surpass the PRIME classifications set by most of the grading bodies of other countries.

In order to carry the Kobe label, this beef must be from the Kobe region of Japan. Now-a-days, the Japanese are commissioning a very select few American breeders/farms to raise some of this cattle for them. This allows a lot more access to Kobe beef for people like us down here in Trinidad. There isn’t much of a demand for Wagyu/Kobe beef in the States yet, but the demand is slowly growing.

Supposedly, Wagyu cattle live a luxurious life; they eat organic grains, drink Japanese beer and sake mash, and even listen to tranquil music while getting daily massages.

Po-Po’s Old Fashioned Eye of Round Roast Recipe

Roasting an Eye of Round – A very easy approach

The other day we prepared one of our Eye of Round roasts. The recipe was incredibly easy and the roast came out delicious. This very affordable cut of beef can come out delicious if roasted correctly. Here’s how we did it:

Step 1

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Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. You don’t actually cook the steak at 500 for any amount of time, you just want the oven very hot from the beginning.

Step 2

 

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Dry rub the roast with seasoning. I simply put kosher salt (regular or sea salt will work) and freshly cracked black pepper. Coarse black pepper will work also if you do not have a cracker. Make sure you get a very good coating on the roast. You can go heavier than you normally would with the salt/pepper. I also put ground mustard. I’m sure you could add all sorts of seasonings if you wish. Some people cut slivers of garlic and insert them into the roast.

Step 3

 

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Place the roast onto a baking pan. We used a glass pyrex baking dish. I also cover the pan with tin foil to make clean up easier. When the roast cooks, it will release some juices, which I love to serve along side the roast. Therefore, it’s better to have a dish with a little bit of a lip to catch the juices.

Step 4

 

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So, you should have an oven that is at 500 degrees. Before you place in the roast, turn the oven down to 475 and place the roast in. You are cooking this roast for 7 minutes per pound. (on a side note: we cooked ours for 7 minutes per pound and it was cooked throughly. If you like your roasts more RARE, then I would suggest going down to 6 minutes per pound. Otherwise, leave at 7.)Once that time is up, turn off your oven, however, do not take out the roast. Also, it’s very important that you do NOT OPEN the oven. You are letting this sit for 2.5 hours.

Step 5

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Kerensa’s Baby Back Rib Recipe

 

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One our best customers, Kerensa of Blue Range, was kind enough to share her rib recipe with us. This is how she cooks her ribs from Bloom’s and we heard they were good, so we asked her to share. Here it is:

Ingredients Needed:
Soy Sauce – 3 tablespoons
Hoisin Sauce – 4 tablespoons
Garlic – 2 cloves
Honey – 3 tablespoons
Complete seasoning
Sweet Chili Sauce – 3 tablespoons
Black Bean Sauce – 2 tablespoonsCut the ribs into portions. Remove excess membranes from underneath the rack or any excess fat.

Place all ingredients over all ribs making sure to coat evenly.Place ribs into a Zip Loc bag. Place into refrigerator to marinate overnight. Do not throw away the excess sauce, you will need it tomorrow.

The next day:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take out of ziploc and place in foil covered roasting pan with 1/4inch water at bottom of pan. Basting ribs with more sauce before placing into oven. Cover pan/ribs with foil.You will cook the ribs for 2.5 hours making sure to uncover and baste ribs every half hour with remaining sauce.

Every 45 minutes turn the ribs over. Last 20mins uncover ribs to colour. Serve and enjoy

Thanks Kerensa!

 

Florida-style Boiled Beef Ribs

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This method of cooking ribs involves doing 99% of the cooking in the oven, prior to putting them on the grill. This allows you to arrive at your desired level of tenderness without the use of a slow-smoker. It also means that the spices/sauces used will infuse into the ribs. So you end up with a very tender, very tasty rib that you can throw on the grill to ‘crisp’ up. This can be done immediately after cooking, or the next day if the ribs are properly stored in the fridge.Note: You can use the same recipe for pork ribs as well. Cooking time may very. Just ‘keep an eye on them’.

We start out with two oven dishes. These ribs are big, so you want to make sure they are deep enough. Wrapping in aluminum foil will also work if you don’t have large pans.


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Take the ribs out of the fridge/freezer and make sure they are fully defrosted and almost at room temperature. These are large racks, so it helps to cut them into single ribs PRIOR to cooking. Cutting between the rib bones is fairly easy with a good knife.

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These are how the ribs should look once they are cut into separate pieces.

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Here is a picture of the seasonings I use for the ribs. You can add/subtract any of these, it’s really a matter of preference.These will go directly onto the ribs and be the ‘base’ seasonings for the slow cook. I sprinkle the ‘dry’ seasonings on first and then add the ‘wet’ ingredients. The dry are as follows:
-Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic cloves
-Garlic powder
-Minced onions (fresh or dry)
-Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
-Paprika
-Ground mustard (or yellow mustard)
-Brown sugar


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The ‘wet’ seasonings are important. I use a combination of the following to serve as the liquid the ribs will cook in. As the ribs cook they will soften and take on these flavors.-Vinegar
-Soy Sauce
-Worcestershire
-Liquid smoke
-Water
-Hot sauce

You want to add enough liquid to cover the ribs roughly half way. I use a ample amount of vinegar and soy sauce, as those give the best taste to the ribs. Top off with water.


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These are the ribs prior to adding vinegar/water. The liquid will need to cover roughly half of the ribs. You will turn then a little after half way through the cooking process.

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Cover the ribs with aluminum foil. You want to create as much seal as possible to hold in the steam/flavor.

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Slow cooking the ribs is the key to tenderness and flavoring. Set your oven to 250 degrees. They will cook for roughly 2 hours, you will turn them and then cook for another :45 to 1 hour. When you take them out to flip, check to see if they are tender enough. You want them to be soft, but if they are too soft, they will fall of the bone making them hard to grill later.

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When you take them out to turn, check on their tenderness. You will be placing the side that was above the liquid, into the liquid. Usually they will only need another :45min on the opposite side. You will notice that they meat contracts, exposing the bone. This will make them much easier for the person eating them to hold.

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Now that they are finished, drain off all of the liquid. If you are eating them that day, let them sit for :15minutes on the counter. If you are eating them later, you can put them into the fridge after they cool down.The final step is to ‘crisp’ the ribs on the grill. This will give them the crispy outside while leaving the inside ‘fall off the bone’ tender. In the same dish that you cooked the ribs, add an ample amount of your favorite BBQ sauce. Make sure that all sides of the rib become coated. Most BBQ sauces have sugar, which is important for the ribs on the grill. The sugar will caramelize when grilled, creating the crispy outside and also grill marks.

Since the ribs are already cooked, this process will only take a few minutes. I prefer to put the ribs on a hot fire, quickly, to get the seared effect. Grilling them on a low heat for a long time will take too long to get the desired effect.

This method is also very good if you are going down the islands or to a grill-out. Most of the cooking is already done, so all you will have to do is place the ribs right on the grill. This will not only crisp the outside, but will make them hot to serve.

As with all BBQ, serve additional warm BBQ sauce on the side. Also, make sure you have plenty of napkins.

Enjoy.